The Constitutional Convention of 1787

Conflicts and Compromises

This look at the Constitutional Convention provides a glimpse into the debates that resulted in an enduring framework of government. Read day-by-day entries recording the proposals, conflicts and compromises as the men struggled to live up to the resolution that had called them to Philadelphia to "render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union."

The entries begin on May 13, 1787, with the arrival of George Washington in Philadelphia and conclude on September 17, 1787, with the signing of the United States Constitution. The synopsis of each day's debates coupled with the words of James Madison, George Mason, Benjamin Franklin and others, provide an understanding of the sense of urgency and necessity motivating the men through a long summer of often tedious work.

George Washington, the Convention's president, marveled to the Marquis de Lafayette of the Convention's success, "We are not to expect perfection in this world;but mankind, in modern times, have apparently made some progress in the science of government."